Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $53.08, but opened at $55.00. Scotts Miracle-Gro shares last traded at $55.38, with a volume of 158,812 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SMG has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from $77.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $69.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Scotts Miracle-Gro from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the company from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded Scotts Miracle-Gro from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.17.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Stock Up 4.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -109.02 and a beta of 1.96. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $55.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.82.

Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $3.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.95 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Scotts Miracle-Gro had a negative net margin of 0.67% and a negative return on equity of 51.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company will post 3.42 EPS for the current year.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.01%. Scotts Miracle-Gro's dividend payout ratio is -550.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Scotts Miracle-Gro

In other Scotts Miracle-Gro news, Director Brian E. Sandoval sold 1,513 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $99,646.18. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $858,748.54. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hagedorn Partnership, L.P. sold 12,123 shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.86, for a total value of $810,543.78. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,432,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $898,073,615.86. This trade represents a 0.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 25.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Scotts Miracle-Gro

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SMG. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 5,300.0% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Scotts Miracle-Gro during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Scotts Miracle-Gro by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 58,918 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,171,000 after acquiring an additional 7,206 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 112.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Scotts Miracle-Gro by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 219,532 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $14,439,000 after purchasing an additional 9,684 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.07% of the company's stock.

About Scotts Miracle-Gro

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and sells products for lawn, garden care, and indoor and hydroponic gardening in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Consumer, Hawthorne, and Other. The company provides lawn care products, comprising lawn fertilizers, grass seed products, spreaders, and other durable products, as well as lawn-related weed, pest, and disease control products; and gardening and landscape products, which include water-soluble and continuous-release plant foods, potting mixes, garden soils, mulches and ground cover products, plant-related pest and disease control products, organic garden products, and live goods and seeding solutions.